Barbie Cake

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Cake decorating is not really my forte, but I know enough to get the job done. I am probably more comfortable working with Fondant than frosting/icing. But this Barbie Cake is one cake design that is fairly easy to implement. If your child loves Barbies, maybe think about making this Barbie Cake or Princess Doll cake for their next birthday.

This Barbie cake design is nothing new. It has been around for quite some time. Also known as a Barbie Dress Cake, it is elegant, and sure to impress your friends, family, and of course that special recipient.

There are other designs that you can follow, but I find this “flower” design to be pretty easy. If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Gather the Ingredients and Tools

In order to make this Barbie cake, you need a handful of ingredients and tools. Some of them are necessary and others are optional.

• Cake – You will need lots of cake. At least 2.5 to 3 times a regular cake recipe. If you like using cake mixes, buy 3 cake mixes. Along with the necessary ingredients for the cake, eggs, water, and oil. You can also use your favorite from-scratch recipe. I have several cake recipes here on my website you can use too, like this chocolate cake, these strawberry cupcakes, or vanilla cupcakes. Just keep in mind you will need to triple the recipe probably so you have enough cake.
• Frosting – You will need lots of frosting. Enough frosting to go in between each layer, then to cover it completely, then to make the actual decorations. Use storebought buttercream or this homemade buttercream frosting recipe.
• Food coloring – This will come in handy to color the frosting. Unless you find some frosting that is already colored. I found it at my local Walmart or Kroger grocery store. You can find it online as well. The Betty Crocker Neon gel colors are what I used for this particular cake.
• Sugar pearl sprinkles – This adds a fun nice finishing touch to the cake, but is purely optional.

Tools

• 8-inch cake pans
• 6-inch cake pan
• Plastic wrap
• Piping bags (or use zip lock bags)
• 1M Wilton Star Tip or 2D Wilton Tip
• Wilton 21 small star tip
• Round Biscuit cutter
• Tweezers
• Parchment paper
• Cake board
• Cake pedestal, rotating (optional)
• You could get this cake decorating kit which has several of these items together.

Step 2: How to make a Barbie Cake or Princess Doll Cake

Begin by baking the actual cake layers for the Barbie Cake. You can use whatever cake recipe that you want. I have several here on my website that you can use. Or just use your favorite cake mixes, along with the required ingredients, like the eggs, oil, and water.

You will need double maybe even triple the amount depending on how tall your Barbie is. For this style and this standard-size barbie, you need 2.5 Cake Mix boxes.

I just keep the one cake layer that I don’t use and use it for something else, like cake pops or cakesicles.

Bake the cakes in 4 8-inch rounds and 1 6-inch round. I only own 2 8-inch rounds so I just bake them after each other. Bake the first set, then after they cool, bake the next set of cake layers.

NOTE: Make sure to grease and flour the pans and it is a good idea to put parchment paper on the bottom as well.

Once the cakes have been baked allow them to cool completely.

TIP: Cold cakes are easier to decorate. Once they have cooled, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge for a few hours before decorating. This is entirely optional but makes frosting easier.

Now take your chosen Barbie, I am using the Dreamtopia Barbie, and wrap her in plastic wrap from the waist down. This will protect her from the cake. Probably not necessary but I do it.

Step 3: Layer the Barbie Cake

Next, take your cake layers and you will need to use a round biscuit cutter or a knife and cut out a hole in the center big enough for your Barbie or doll to fit in.

Take a cake board and add some frosting to the middle then place the first layer down on it. The frosting will act as glue to hold the layer in place.

NOTE: A rotating cake pedestal is so helpful for decorating this style of Barbie cake. But it isn’t required.

Now add a generous amount of frosting on top of the cake layer and smooth it out. Repeat the process with the other layers. The top layer will be the 6-inch round, or you can use another 8-inch round.

NOTE: If you have any cake layers that are particularly mounded, you will want to level them off with a knife, a bread knife works great for this.

It is okay and almost wanted to have the very top layer be mounded, it helps with the design of the “cake dress.”

Stand the Barbie next to the cake and make sure you have enough layers.

Step 4: Trim, shape, and frost the whole layered cake

Time to trim and shape the Barbie cake. Use a trimmer knife or a bread knife, and start trimming the cake to create a “bell” or “dress” shape.

You can shape it however you like though. It may take a little practice to get it completely even all around. Don’t worry about that too much, when you first make one.

For this style I wanted it to have more of an angle on the back of the dress and more straight down on the front of the dress.

Once you have trimmed the cake, remove all the cake pieces and you can save those for cake pops or cakesicles as well. Clean the bottom of the board as necessary with a slightly damp paper towel.

Then using clean hands, or wear gloves, pat the sides of the cake, and press any cake crumbs in it. This also allows you to shape it a little bit too.

Now you need to frost the whole cake. Yes, you will be using lots of frosting for this layered Barbie dress cake.

You can frost it with whatever technique that you want. I like to pipe a bunch of frosting all around and then smooth it out.

There are several little tools to help with this. But you don’t have to buy all kinds of cake decorating tools. Use a normal cake spatula, or just a regular spatula if that is all that you have.

Once done, again clean off the cake board as necessary with a slightly damp paper towel.

Then set the Barbie in the middle of the cake. If your Barbie has really long hair you may want to tie it up with a twisty or something, so it doesn’t get in the way when you are decorating it.

Step 5: Decorating the Barbie Cake

Time to finally decorate the Barbie Cake dress. There are so many different styles and designs that you can do. For this particular one, I went with the popular “flower” dress design. I chose to use three colors a nice purple, pink, and neon pink.

Add some purple food coloring gel to a bunch of frosting. Then mix until well colored. Add more food coloring as necessary.

I like to use the double bag technique because it allows me to switch out frosting colors but use the same tip. Take one decorating bag and add the star tip to it. I use the Wilton 1M or 2D tips.

Take a different bag and add the purple frosting. Snip off the corner and then put that back in the bag with the tip.

Pipe on those flowers. To make the flower, hold the tip perpendicular to the cake. Press the tip to the cake, then pull up, squeeze and do a circle motion, which will create the small flower. Repeat next to that flower, etc.

After two purple lines of flowers, I switched to a strawberry frosting which is already colored. I pulled the purple bag out and added the bag of strawberry frosting to my star tip bag. Easy switching of frosting with the two bag technique. Then pipe on more flowers.

Next, I switched back to purple. I followed that up with a small star tip and a new bag. I mixed some neon pink frosting up and piped on smaller flowers at the top and up next to the Barbie’s waste. This will help cover any plastic wrap that may be showing.

Then if you like, you can pipe little stars in the gaps between the flowers, if any. I used neon pink and normal white frosting, with a small tip, to make the stars.

Now the Barbie cake could be done if you like. Or add a finishing touch.

There is a type of sprinkle called a sugar pearl that looks really cool on cakes and cupcakes. Using tweezers, grab the pearls and place them on the cake to finish her off.

Now she is done. Enjoy!

How long does the Barbie cake last?

This cake will last about 3 days at room temperature. You will want to loosely cover it with plastic wrap unless you have a cake keeper that is large enough to hold it.

Here are some other recipes you may like:

Homemade Buttercream Frosting

Star Wars Stormtrooper Cake

Spider-Man Cake

Squid Game Dalgona Candy

Big Hero 6 Baymax Peanut Butter Cups

Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it.  If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.

Check out my other website 101 Creative Dates for fun date ideas. Food and dating go hand in hand!